Steve Redgrave - Motion in Action - Great Olympic Heroes, Stories and Inspirational Sportsmen and Women Steve Redgrave - Motion in Action Sometimes it is not any one individual feat that defines someone’s “greatness” as much as it is the culmination of the many accomplishments they have made as a whole. Sir Stephen Geoffrey Redgrave is one such example that exemplifies this very scenario. Stephen Redgrave (Now known as Sir Stephen Redgrave after receiving the prestigious Knighthood during the 2001 New Year’s Honors List) was born on March 23rd of 1962 in Marlow, England. While he does not publicly speak much about his past, his incredible list of records speaks for itself. Steve Redgrave was a British Rower in his earlier years. This at least, is what brought him international fame and recognition. His feats and capabilities as a coxswain manifested themselves early on, but he will likely always be best remembered for his Olympic accomplishments. Steve Redgrave first arrived on the Olympic scene during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles , California . He won his first Olympic Gold Medal during the Coxed fours events.

He again appeared in the Olympic rowing competitions in during the 1988 Olympic Games held in Seoul , South Korea and won another Gold Medal, this time in the coxless-pairs event. He also managed a second medal. He won a Bronze medal in the coxed-pairs events as well. Anybody who is an avid follower of the Olympics knows that scoring two gold medals in consecutive Olympic Games is an amazing accomplishment, but Sir Stephen was not finished, at this point he had barely even started his amazing list of Olympic deeds. His third Olympic appearance was in the 1992 Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain. During the 1992 games he managed to win a Gold medal in the coxless pairs again. Three consecutive gold medals is an accomplishment which is almost unheard of, but still he was not done. During the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Georgia he scored yet again. Once again, his strongest competition was the coxless pairs and he won his fourth gold medal in four consecutive Olympic Games. He vowed never to compete again in the Olympics after he had won the gold in Atlanta, but shortly afterwards decided that he had chosen his words prematurely.

He did indeed participate in the 2000 Olympics held in Sydney, Australia. Could this (now) aging coxswain still compete with the world’s best competitors though? The Olympic Competition in Sydney, like all Olympic competitions, is between what are arguably the best athletes in the world from any given sport. Sir Stephen had seen his better days. Recent problems with his health led many people to doubt his ability to be truly competitive in such a gathering of exceptional athletes. He still worked very hard in his chosen field though, and he always had the encouragement and found the motivation to excel in whatever endeavor he chose to undertake. During the Sydney Olympics he went on to win his fifth consecutive Gold medal, this time in the coxless fours event. This made him the first Olympic rower in history to accomplish such an amazing record. Never before in Olympic history had any rower racked up Gold in five consecutive Olympic challenges. His receiving the Knighthood and his title was a direct result of the hard work and effort he put forth in his Olympic competition. While this in itself is Olympic history and one of the great all time moments in Olympic sports, Sir Steve still was not done. His love of sports and athletic competition did not stop with rowing.

Sir Stephen was also a member of the British National Bobsleigh team in the 1989-1990 season. To this day he has held numerous world records and still holds an Olympic record. His personal effort and thoughtlessness perhaps, make an even larger picture of Sir Stephen possible. These also help to include him among the ranks of the “best-of-the-best” among historic Olympic figures. While his Olympic and athletic prowess is beyond question, his personal endeavors are even more impressive. He continues to raise large amounts of money for charity, raising most of the money for children’s charities. He has his own charitable organizations which he promotes selflessly. He is very active not only in the world of sports, but the business world as well. His continued efforts beyond his sports ability alone truly separate Sir Stephen from other, more common heroes. His approach to life makes a greater impact on more people than most people believe is humanly possible. While he should not only be remembered for his accomplishments in the sporting world, Sir Stephen Redgrave could (And should) indeed be a role-model for just about anybody, making him a true spotlight in time to be remembered from the Olympics.

Career Highlights 2000 Sydney Olympic Games – Gold 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games – Gold 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games – Gold 1988 Seoul Olympic Games – Gold, Bronze 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games – Gold BBC ON THIS DAY | 23 | 2000: Redgrave wins fifth Olympic gold 2000: Redgrave wins fifth Olympic gold British rower Steve Redgrave has entered Olympic history by winning his fifth consecutive gold medal. Redgrave won his gold alongside Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell in the coxless fours on day eight of the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The crowd of 22,000 dominated by British fans, let out a roar of triumph and relief after a thrilling and nail-biting race that saw the British crew win by less than half a second ahead of their closest rivals Italy at Penrith Lakes. Pinsent fell into the water as he rushed over to hug his fellow oarsmen and Redgrave slumped over his oars in exhaustion. It was Pinsent's third successive Olympic gold and a first for Foster and Cracknell.

This is the stuff of dreams Steve Redgrave According to the Times newspaper, after the race Redgrave said to his crewmates, "Remember these six minutes for the rest of your lives. Listen to the crowd and take it all in. This is the stuff of dreams." The four Britons took the title over the 2,000-metres course in five minutes and 56.24 seconds, beating the Italians by just 0.38 seconds. His father, wife and three children were overcome with emotion as they watched Redgrave make sporting history. Britain's Minster of Sport, Kate Hoey, was also watching the race in Sydney and said he was "the greatest Olympic athlete of all time". The 38-year-old rower has had a glittering career winning the coxed four gold in Los Angeles in 1984 and the coxless pair golds in Seoul in 1988, Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996. Only Hungary's Aladar Gerevich beats him in the tally of consecutive golds - he won six in succession between 1932 and 1960 in the team sabre fencing.

After Atlanta he famously announced he should be shot if he went near a boat again. Today he would only say he wanted to enjoy the moment of victory before thinking about his future. Princess Anne presented the medals as the British National Anthem was played and thousands of spectators shouted "Arise Sir Steve!" There is little doubt that Redgrave will be knighted for his Herculean achievements. He already has a CBE for services to rowing, adding to the MBE he received 10 years ago. Video: Steve Redgrave wins his fifth Olympic gold medal in rowing - Telegraph Great Olympic Moments Great Olympic Moments: Steve Redgrave wins his fifth Olympic gold medal Two things distinguished Steve Redgrave as the supreme oarsman of his generation who at the 2000 Sydney Games won a gold medal for the fifth Olympics in a row. Not only did the Briton give a huge power boost to every boat in which he raced, he communicated an unshakeable belief to those around him. By Jon Henderson 2:20PM BST 13 Jul 2012 Redgrave arrived in Sydney attempting to put together an unprecedented sequence of titles in an endurance event.

The sequence had begun in 1984 in Los Angeles where he won gold in the coxed four, and been maintained in the coxless pair in Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta. Now, in 2000, he was racing in the coxless four. He was 38, suffering from diabetes and competing in a sport in which there was now very rarely such a thing as an easy race. Crews were separated by fractions of seconds. Even as a 22-year-old at his first Olympics Redgrave’s influence had been marked. "When he came into our boat, he brought so much power and commitment," Richard Budgett, his veteran colleague at those Games, said. "He quickened us so much." The task in Sydney was daunting. Italy and Australia had entered excellent crews. Slovenia were good, too. Even Redgrave began to doubt himself at one point in the build-up. He told the coach, Jurgen Grobler: "I’m giving up. I’m not going to make it." Grobler talked him out of this unfamiliar slump in confidence and, having been persuaded of its absurdity, Redgrave excluded all thoughts of failure.

The race was as tough as had been expected, no matter that the British crew of Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster, Redgrave and James Cracknell nosed in front at the start and stayed there until the finish. They were chased all the way. In the first instance Australia applied the pressure before falling back as Britain opened a lead of half a length. Then in the second half of the race the Italians unleashed a ferocious challenge, upping their rate as they did so to a savage 44 strokes per minute. At the line Britain were just 0.38 of a second ahead of Italy but Redgrave, although utterly spent, said he never doubted they would win: "I knew we had it won after 250 metres. It was all over by then in my eyes. As soon as we were out in front no one was going to go past us." Given there were 1,750 metres still to go it was a remarkable statement of belief.

"Sure, it was desperate and fraught at the end," he added, "but we never doubted we would win." Sir Steve Redgrave Sir Steve Redgrave: The Official Site Welcome to the official web site for Sir Steve Redgrave, former British rower and five times Olympic gold medallist. Having set out to win three Olympic Gold Medals at the beginning of his career, Steve went on to win an incredible five Golds in five successive Olympic Games from 1984 to 2000. Since retiring from competitive sport, Steve hasn't broken the habit of exceeding his targets. The Steve Redgrave Fund forged its way beyond the ï¿½5million target that Steve set when launching the charity in 2001 and that total has continued to build since joining forces with Sport Relief. In addition to maintaining a busy schedule as a motivational speaker, Steve has spent his time developing strategic commercial relationships and, having helped London to win the bid to host the Olympics in 2012, Steve is committed to ensuring the event provides a lasting legacy for UK sport in the future.

Keep an eye on the latest news section for updates on Steve's most recent activities and, for more detailed information, please visit the relevant sections within the website. Sir Steve Redgrave: I seriously thought about trying to win a sixth gold at 2004 Athens Olympics - Telegraph Advertisement Sir Steve Redgrave: I seriously thought about trying to win a sixth gold at 2004 Athens Olympics EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW - Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave, who has taken over the running of the Henley Royal Regatta, tells Oliver Brown he considered a 2004 comeback Going for gold: Sir Steve Redgrave found it hard to stay out of the water Photo: RII SCHROER Follow It is a touch disconcerting to see a suited Sir Steve Redgrave holding court in an office high above the Thames. What is this, a reincarnation as a provincial bank manager? Has Britain’s greatest Olympian finally decided, at 53, to take up a proper job? The truth is rather more romantic. For Redgrave finds himself inheriting a role that he has long secretly coveted, as only the 11th chairman of the Henley Royal Regatta in the event’s 176-year history.

Beneath him flow the very same waters that he once remorselessly plied, every day for up to 49 weeks a year, in pursuit of those five golds. “I feel it when I drive into the car park,” he says. “That’s what I did for 10 years plus, rowing out of Leander Club, just across Henley Bridge. The difference is that I’m no longer getting my kit bag out of the car and going out on the water. Now I’m picking up a briefcase.” The view from Redgrave’s little eyrie is majestic, a famous fluvial scene essentially unchanged since the days of Three Men in a Boat. He has already made a few changes to the workplace decor, though. For a start, the beautiful chambers-style desk bequeathed by one of his predecessors, Peter Coni QC, has needed to have its central drawer removed to accommodate his gigantic thighs. He claims he is also considering introducing a large oval table for board meetings, to replicate the model he has seen in the Cabinet Room on his visits to 10 Downing Street.

Sir Steve Redgrave is an Olympic legend Hard as it might be to believe, Redgrave has only recently quelled his restless urges to return to rowing. He discloses in this, his first interview since taking over as Henley’s chairman, that he even seriously contemplated competing at Athens in 2004 for a sixth gold medal at a sixth Games. It is an astonishing admission from a figure who notoriously said, in the midst of searing lactic cramps post-race in Atlanta in 1996: “If you ever see me in a boat again, shoot me.” But it turns out that he had to be dissuaded by Jürgen Gröbler, head coach of the British men’s team for more than two decades, from returning yet again after the historic fifth triumph in Sydney. “It was almost a question of testing how far I could get back in a period of 18 months,” he says. “After a couple of years out, I wondered how close I could get to being in a final. My mind was running overtime. So, I phoned up Jürgen and he came over for a chat. I said: ‘I’m thinking of making a comeback.’ He looked so shocked.

He said: ‘Give me two or three days. I’ll give it some thought and come back to you.’ I could only do it with his support. But a couple of days later, he looked at me across the room at Leander and shook his head. We never discussed it again. It was probably right.” Redgrave finds greater contentment as a landlubber these days, and the Henley job serves as perhaps the perfect conduit for investing his energies in the sport he adores. It is just a pity the post is unpaid. “My life is flexible. I would hate to have a nine-to-five job, but I do need to have an income.” Redgrave being knighted by The Queen To that end, Redgrave is unlikely to relinquish the after-dinner speeches or corporate invitations any time soon. He is also certain to be back at the Games in Rio next summer, in his duties for the British Olympic Association. After all, his wife, Lady Ann, is still the chief doctor for Britain’s rowers. But Henley, for the moment, forms his abiding preoccupation. “I love this regatta. I’ve enjoyed 15 years of being on the committee, so I wanted to take that to the next step.

I’m 53. I’ve matured enough to be pretty level, to be comfortable in my own skin.” Redgrave is immensely proud to have been trusted as custodian of the regatta, a centrepiece of the British summer since 1839 and a fiercely traditional affair, with enclosures aplenty and blazers and flannels all but de rigueur for the gentlemen. Sir Steve might bestride his sport – indeed, he is the one rower the majority of the British public could confidently name – but he shatters the established template for Henley’s top man. He is the first not to have been educated at Oxbridge in his lifetime. Coni, whose desk he now leans upon, was an eminent lawyer who began rowing at St Catharine’s, Cambridge. Mike Sweeney, the incumbent for 22 years prior to Redgrave’s appointment, was a St John’s alumnus who represented the Light Blues in the 1965 Boat Race. But for Redgrave, a builder’s son, education extended only as far as a secondary modern in Marlow. He is light years removed from anything resembling establishment stock.

There is, to his credit, no inverted snobbery that arises from this, no resentment that he was not afforded the same privileges as those with whom he mixes here at Regatta HQ. “If you look at the history of the stewards at Henley, they are a pretty well-educated bunch,” Redgrave says. “Then there is me, who did not go to university at all, so it is quite a big change. But my life has been here at Henley. I am from Marlow, the next town downriver. I couldn’t row at the regatta as a junior – the only junior event at that time was the Princess Elizabeth, the school eights, and I was at a school that wasn’t big enough to get eight people together. That memory has stayed with me ever since.” It was Henley that helped cement the Redgrave legend. Quite apart from quintuple Olympic glory, his record at the regatta is unsurpassed: 22 medals, including seven victories in the Silver Goblets and Nickalls’ Challenge Cup for Pairs. “As an athlete, it is the best place you can race, in terms of atmosphere,” he says.

“Henley is the nearest a rower gets to competing in a stadium.” Redgrave’s self-imposed challenge is to try to capture this ambience for the digital generation. As such, he reveals that Henley, shaking off its long-held reputation as one of the most conservative bastions in sport, will this July begin broadcasting races live on YouTube. “We have nearly 300 races in five days. We wanted to show the action in a way that is new, exciting and different.” He has agreed a deal with TV production company Sunset+Vine for the YouTube broadcast, having been energised by the example set at the extraordinary America’s Cup of 2013, which also used the world’s largest video-sharing site as a platform. “The sights out in San Francisco were incredible, with the speed and intimacy of the footage,” Redgrave says. “As it stands, there is not very much rowing coverage on TV at all. It is very expensive to do. You need huge numbers of cameras. But we hope we will have some amazing footage that the sport hasn’t seen before.” The trade-off between traditionalism and innovation on this stretch of water is, Redgrave acknowledges, a delicate one. “In one sense, Henley never changes.

We are only here for a short period, set against the history of the regatta. It has been going for 176 years, since it started with just seven boats. We are guardians of the event. We love the history, we love the breadth and depth of what we do, we uphold our traditions well, and we say we don’t like change. But the reality is that we do change. We are changing relatively quickly.” Provided he does not make any spectacular gaffes, this august position is Redgrave’s for as long as he wants it. He assures he will not cling on until he is 70, however, and that he will cleave to a straightforward credo. “I don’t feel any need to put my own slant on it, because the event is bigger than me. It’s bigger than any of us. It will still be going in another 176 years. I just need to make sure the regatta is in as good a shape when I leave the job as it was when I took it on.” It promises to be a most intriguing chapter for Britain’s knight of the river, fast adjusting to life as a blazered revolutionary.

50 stunning Olympic moments No4: Steve Redgrave's fifth gold medal | Rob Bagchi | Sport | The Guardian 50 stunning Olympic moments 50 stunning Olympic moments No4: Steve Redgrave's fifth gold medal It took four to win it but the focus was on Redgrave, who won his fifth gold in successive Games. Click here for a gallery of his feat Steve Redgrave wins his fifth Olympic gold. Animation: Jonny Weeks 50 stunning Olympic moments 50 stunning Olympic moments No4: Steve Redgrave's fifth gold medal It took four to win it but the focus was on Redgrave, who won his fifth gold in successive Games. Click here for a gallery of his feat Wednesday 7 December 2011 05.52 EST First published on Wednesday 7 December 2011 05.52 EST Share on Messenger Close As retirement messages go, Steve Redgrave’s at Lake Lanier 39 miles to the north-west of Atlanta in Georgia after winning his fourth gold medal in successive Olympic Games in 1996 was about as unequivocal as it gets. “Anybody who sees me in a boat has my permission to shoot me,” he said.

At the age of 34 he had devoted more than half his life to the unrelenting training regime that had put him at the pinnacle of British Olympic achievement, his four gold medals matching the record of the swimmer and water polo player Paulo Radmilovic who had completed his quartet at the 1920 Antwerp Games. ‘I looked up, heard the roar of the crowd’: Helen Glover wins gold at the 2012 Olympics Read more For four months he seemed to be sticking to his guns, enjoying a break from the 7.30am starts on the water at Henley where the squad would warm up with 20km on the Thames, followed by circuit training, weights, lengthy battles with the ergometer and an intake of pasta that would have defeated Luciano Pavarotti. Yet the one thing one would expect from such a high-profile retirement, a valedictory official confirmation and celebration of his career, had been absent. The understanding was that such a famously terse and resolute individual found the concept of a traditional orgy of exaltation distasteful.

The real reason, though, was that only two days after winning the coxless pairs with Matthew Pinsent in Atlanta, Redgrave had changed his mind. His four-month holiday, therefore, was not the respite from exhaustion before embarking on a new path that everyone assumed it to be. By contrast this singular man was using his break to test his mental and physical appetite for competition once again, a self-made obstacle to surmount allowing him an opportunity to hone his mettle in a different way. “I knew that when I started again it would be hard and I wanted a break,” he said. “When I did start again I was halfway through my first endurance weights session, which was really hard, and I thought: ‘What the hell am I doing this for? It’s stupid.’ But I was also pleased it was so hard, because it proved that my philosophy for the past 20 years was right – that you can’t afford to have any time off.” Not that he told Pinsent of his decision to resume rowing and left the head coach Jürgen Gröbler to inform the man with whom he had won his last two golds at Barcelona and Atlanta. “It had nothing to do with Matthew,” he said.

“If I’m good enough and he’s good enough, we’ll try to get into a boat, but the key for me is that I have to show that I’m the best or one of the best in the country.” The two had been teamed together in 1990 following Andy Holmes’s retirement after the Seoul Games and enjoyed a far better personal relationship than the one he had with his previous partner but there was no room for sentimentality in Redgrave’s outlook. After Atlanta Pinsent had immediately made it clear that he intended to carry on in pursuit of his third gold medal but that his preference was to move up from the pair. With Pinsent’s supreme physical strength making him ideal for the stroke seat in the coxless four and Redgrave’s technical excellence, power, drive and determination, Gröbler’s task was to identify the two oarsmen who would could complement the pair’s attributes and have that hard to define “crew-making” quotient that turns four athletes into a team for the No2 and bow seats.

James Cracknell, a junior world championship gold medal winner in 1990, had suffered serious setbacks on his promotion to the senior squad, missing the 1992 Games with a broken shoulder and being forced to pull out of the double sculls in 1996 on the eve of competition having fallen ill in unfortunate circumstances. “On the day of the opening ceremony we were on our way to the rowing lake in Atlanta when the driver, who had never driven on a freeway before, parked the bus on the hard shoulder,” he said. “We were all stuck on this bus with air conditioning going full blast for two hours. When I got back to the Olympic village I had got tonsillitis and the doctor wanted to pull me out of the race.” On earning selection by Gröbler in the bow for the four in 1997 he would channel his disappointment and exploit his remarkable aerobic capacity and brawn to run Pinsent’s status as the powerhouse of the team remarkably close. For the fourth spot Gröbler chose to retain one member of the bronze-medal winning four from Atlanta, Tim Foster, who had also won a gold in the pair with Pinsent at the junior worlds.

Foster, the most genial of the four, was often portrayed as the maverick choice but while he was physically the weakest of the crew he was technically superb, his strength-to-weight power equalled the standards his team-mates had set, his skills as the metronomic pacesetter were unrivalled and, most crucially, the boat was faster with him in it than when more muscley rowers occupied the seat. The four got off to the ideal start by winning the World Championships at Lac d’Aiguebelette in September 1997 but shortly afterwards Redgrave was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. He decided to cope with the onset of the condition by adapting his diet and taking only small amounts of insulin but by the end of the year he felt weak and embarrassed by the fall-off in his performances. “I was pretty close to jacking it all in,” he said, as the effects of scaling down his 7,000 calorie a day diet began to take their toll. “I was training hard but not performing. The other guys were way ahead of me and I felt very isolated.” Pinterest It was then that he changed track.

“I decided that diabetes had to live with me, not me live with it,” he said, upped his insulin doses and returned to his habitual, enormous intake of food. They won at the world championships again in 1998 and the British four defended their title the following year in Canada. It was not the same four, however. In early 1998 Foster had severed the tendons in his right hand after punching a window at a party and faced the wrath of Cracknell. In his absence the coxless four lost a World Cup race, the first time Pinsent and Redgrave had been defeated in eight years. Later that year Foster had to undergo back surgery to remove a torn disc, was forced to lie flat for a month and stay indoors for a further two while he recuperated. His place was taken by Ed Coode and Foster’s video diaries in which he confided his anxiety and determination to win back his place became the highlight of the BBC documentary Gold Fever that chronicled the fortunes of the four plus Coode in the build-up to Sydney.

Foster’s stubbornness and dedication won him back a place in the squad in 1999 but Coode was retained in the four while Foster’s experience was put to service in the silver-medal winning eight but by Olympic year he had regained his seat in Britain’s blue riband boat. At the World Cup Regatta in Lucerne in July 2000 the unthinkable happened, the “unbeatable” four of Redgrave, Pinsent, Foster and Cracknell suffered their first ever defeats – in the semi-final by New Zealand – and then came home fourth in the final behind Italy, the Kiwis and Australia. “We had a reasonable first minute and then we just had nothing left to give,” said Redgrave. “All the calls were there, but not the speed. I feel so frustrated.” Gröbler shared the frustration but not the concern: “I have full confidence in the crew, there is no question,” he said. “It’s time to sit down, analyse the training and get things right.” Two months later in Penrith in Sydney’s sprawling western suburbs they had the opportunity to prove their coach right.

Their first heat victory was rudimentary enough, consigning Australia to second place with a winning margin of more than three seconds. In the semi-final they were ahead at 250m, stretched their lead over Slovenia to a length by halfway and eased into the final in first place without having to reach their most strenuous stroke-rates. Their tormentors in Lucerne, Australia, Italy and New Zealand, had a far tougher semi-final, Australia putting Italy into second place by 0.28sec. The final two days later, on 23 September, was handily scheduled for British audiences at 1am and offered the hope of the perfect end to a Friday night out as huge numbers tuned in to see if Redgrave could achieve his ambition “to make the Olympic rings in gold medals” in front of 25,000 spectators at Penrith Lakes. As in the semi-final, the Great Britain four started superbly and established a half-length lead over the Australians in the first half of an epic race. Italy, however, stuck to their plan of attacking after the 1,000m mark and upped their rate to an astonishing 44 strokes per minute and closed in on the GB boat.

But Foster kept the pace astutely and Pinsent, in the stroke seat the closest to his pursuers, put in an Herculean effort even by his incomparable standards and as cacophonous roars rang around the lake Britain held on for victory by 0.38sec in an outrageously tense finale . Foster and Cracknell punched the air, Redgrave slumped over his oar and Pinsent climbed over Foster to embrace the veteran before throwing himself into the water. Redgrave climbed to the top of the podium for the fifth time, the sight of four enormous men, shoeless and their arms slung around each other’s shoulders, looking somewhat incongruous out of the boat. It took four men to win it but, naturally, the focus was all on Redgrave. Overcome by emotion having again given permission for someone to shoot him if he shelved his retirement plans, it was left to Pinsent to put his colleague’s achievements into context. “I said beforehand that Steve had achieved the title of ultimate Olympian irrespective of what happened today. Today, winning his fifth Olympic gold medal I think he’s put himself into the greatest Olympian that certainly Great Britain has ever produced and arguably in the world.” And Redgrave himself?

“I’m just an ordinary guy who went quite quick in a boat, really,” was his verdict. It was typical of his diffident character but disingenuous. Anyone who manages to sustain such a unique competitive edge that nourished his desperation to win for more than 16 years is simply extraordinary, inimitable in fact. What the Guardian said: 23 September 2000. Redgrave’s ultimate gold by Richard Williams And so, at last, the blade is on the feather. What will he do with it, the 12ft 6in oar that he pulled for what we may reasonably assume was the last time in an Olympic final? Steve Redgrave hardly seems the sort of retired rower who would be likely to mount it above the fireplace, in the manner of chaps whose CVs mention Eton and Leander. In Sydney last night he won the fifth of his gold medals by the closest of margins, a mere 0.38 of a second, in a race of shattering ferocity and breathtaking closeness.

He and his team-mates in Britain’s coxless four – Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell – went out hard and fast, establishing a lead of half a length over Australia and the US by the 500metre mark, setting a fierce pace at around 40 strokes per minute. But it was always going to be Italy, their bitterest rivals, who would present the real challenge to Redgrave’s chance of becoming the first endurance athlete to win gold medals at five successive Olympic Games. Italy had inflicted the crew’s first ever defeat at Lucerne a few weeks ago, a reverse that, to say the least, was badly taken. The Italian assault came in the final quarter of the race, and their acceleration brought them closer and closer as the boats passed in front of the grandstands full of 25,000 cheering fans. Summoning the last ounce of his crew’s strength, Pinsent at stroke just held their opponents at bay to cross the line with an advantage of no more than three or four feet, with the Italian boat narrowing the advantage with every stroke. Victorious crews normally look as fresh as daisies, while the losers collapse.

But it was some moments after they crossed the line before Cracknell and Foster could raise their arms in triumph. Pinsent clambered over Foster to embrace Redgrave, and then fell in. Redgrave’s achievements will always be in his deeds and not in his memories. The fifth gold medal, which was presented to him by the president of the International Olympic Committee, Juan Antonio Samaranch, will, one imagines, go where the other four have gone into a display case in the Henley rowing museum. But somewhere deep in that warrior’s heart perhaps one day he will feel a glow of pride in his immense, unexampled conquests. You would not want to insult Redgrave by trying to call him the best oarsman in the world. Rod Waddell, the winner of the single sculls gold medal on the Olympic course at Penrith, has the best claim on that title. The man with five gold medals from successive games is Steve Redgrave, and that is enough description for anyone. His record of Olympic and world championship titles gives him a unique place in his sport, and in his nation’s sporting history. He came to the sport with no background.

At 13, a schoolmaster at Great Marlow comprehensive suggested that, with his big hands and feet, he might make a rower. And with that nudge his destiny began. Marlow, of course, is Henley’s neighbour, and has a regatta and a rowing club of its own, so he was in friendly territory from the start. But after failing as a single sculler, it was pure willpower that allowed him to refashion himself into a powerhouse of pairs and fours rowing. His first gold medal came in Los Angeles in 1984, stroking a coxed four with Andy Holmes behind him in the No3 seat. Four years later he and Holmes were winning another gold as a coxless pair in Seoul. Holmes and Redgrave were barely on nodding terms at breakfast, but in every other sense the partnership worked. With Matthew Pinsent, Redgrave formed a relationship that was not much stronger on conversation but contained a greater degree of warmth. Together they won in Barcelona and Atlanta, the latter in a heartstoppingly tight finish by less than a second against Australia, before Redgrave made his famous retirement speech.

Since then he has overcome the initial effects of diabetes, a bout of colitis, and the scepticism of those who felt that, at his age, he could act as nothing more than a drag-anchor on the younger men around him. Britain missed a medal in the coxless pairs, the event which Redgrave dominated at three successive Olympics Games, by 12 hundredths of a second when Greg Searle and Ed Coode finished fourth behind boats from France, the United States and Australia. Why Olympians shine under the spotlight Read more Coode and Searle started confidently, pushing themselves in a half-length lead over Australia and the US by the 500 metre mark, with France’s Jean-Christophe Rolland and Michel Andrieux in fourth place. The 28-year-old Searle, who won the last coxed pairs event to be held at the Games with his brother Jonny in 1992, ending the six-year unbeaten record of the great Abbagnale brothers of Italy, was setting a swift pace at 36 strokes a minute.

He and the 25-year-old Coode maintained their lead through the halfway mark, but with about 300 metres left the attacks started to come, most devastatingly from the French. Rolland and Andrieux had twice had the experience of watching the tail of a British Olympic pair disappear into the distance, having finished fourth in Barcelona and third in Atlanta, behind Redgrave and Pinsent on both occasions, and they were not about to accept a third helping. Particularly since the 32-year-old Rolland, like Redgrave, had also announced his retirement only to think better of it. A ferocious spurt took them into the lead as the crews entered the home stretch, Searle and Coode finding nothing left in the tank with which to fuel a response as the Australians also edged past them, followed by Murphy and Bea of the US. The French winning margin was what used to be known as a canvas, or about a third of a length, or 0.8 of a second, whichever you prefer. At the line the US were less than half a second in front of Australia, while the margin separating the British from a medal was about the span of a hand.

What happened next A year after Redgrave’s fifth gold he was knighted by the Queen. In 2006, he completed a third London marathon, raising £1,800,000 for charity and launched his own clothing wear FiveG – a fair-trade cotton clothing brand. Redgrave has also been involved with the launch of a rowing academy in India. What Redgrave said “It was all over … in my eyes. As soon as we were out in front no one was going to go past us.” What Matthew Pinsent said “Steve Redgrave will always know how much I owe him. He started rowing with a cocky 19-year-old and finished his career with a seasoned successful athlete – that transition had so much to do with him.” Sir Steve Redgrave: The man with the golden oars - Olympic News Sir Steve Redgrave: The man with the golden oars twitter Share In the latest of our exclusive interviews with great Olympians, Sir Steve Redgrave looks back at Sydney 2000, where he won his fifth Olympic gold medal, thus becoming the only British athlete to win titles at five consecutive editions of the Games. Even the greatest of careers must come to an end.

And in the case of Sir Steven Redgrave CBE that moment arrived when he was at the very top, clutching yet another Olympic gold. The date was 23 September 2000, the setting - the International Regatta Centre in Penrith, site of the rowing competitions for the Sydney Games . Competing alongside James Cracknell, Matthew Pinsent and Tim Foster, he helped Team GB win gold in the coxless fours ahead of the Italians and Australians. It was Redgrave’s fifth gold in five successive Olympic Games, a feat managed by only four other athletes, and never before by a Briton. Knighted in 2001 for his services to sport, Redgrave was one of few rowers in history to enjoy success rowing both strokeside (port) and bowside (starboard). Standing at a towering 1.95m and powerfully built, the athlete from Marlow in Buckinghamshire came close to qualifying for Moscow 1980 when he was just 18. Four years later in Los Angeles, he won his first Olympic title in the coxed fours with Martin Cross, Richard Budgett, Andy Holmes and Adrian Ellison (cox) after an epic duel with the American boat.

After his victory in the coxless pairs with Andy Holmes in Seoul in 1988 , when he also took a bronze in the coxed pairs, it was with Matthew Pinsent, a man eight years his junior, that Redgrave’s Olympic career truly gained momentum. The duo won successive golds in the coxless pairs at Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 before going on to secure their triumph in the coxless fours in Sydney. In addition to his five Olympic triumphs, Redgrave also scooped nine world championship titles between 1981 and 1999. From 1990 onwards he shared each of those podiums with Pinsent. On 23 September 2000 in Penrith, after the British quartet crossed the finish line in first place, the normally unflappable Redgrave was surprised by Pinsent, who decided on an unconventional way of celebrating their 11-year collaboration.

Watch the video to find out what happened… BBC SPORT | ROWING AND WATER SPORTS | Redgrave's golden glory Saturday, 23 September, 2000, 01:06 GMT 02:06 UK Redgrave's golden glory Relief and emotion shows as Pinsent hugs Redgrave real 56k Redgrave and team talk to the BBC. Olympic legend Steve Redgrave raced to a record fifth successive gold medal as Britain's coxless fours scored a thrilling victory over the Italians. Cheered on by ecstatic British support at the waterside, and millions of TV viewers burning the midnight oil back home, Redgrave, Matthew Pinsent, Tim Foster and James Cracknell, held on for an historic win. British fans lined the banks of Lake Penrith The crowd went wild with delight as Redgrave and his team somehow held on in the face of an incredible surge from the battling Italians to win by 0.38 seconds. Australia were third. Cracknell and Foster punched the air with delight, while Pinsent climbed back down the boat to hug his long-time rowing partner Redgrave, who was clearly overcome.

Early bath After the embrace, Pinsent, claiming his third gold, fell joyfully into the water. It was desperate at the end, but we never doubted we would win Steve Redgrave The victory made Redgrave, 38, the first Olympian to win gold at five successive games in an endurance event. After milking the applause of the crowd, Redgrave attempted to shrug off the importance of the day. "Every day is history and today is no different," he said. "I knew we had won it after 250m. Desperate end "It was all over by then in my eyes. As soon as we were out in front no-one was going to go past us. "Sure, it was desperate and fraught at the end, but we never doubted we would win. "It has been four years of hard work. I had a good feeling all week and I knew it was going to go well. "It was close, but that doesn't matter. Second best is not good enough, it's who crosses the line first.

"A lot of people wanted us to win but we still had to go out there and do the job." Matthew Pinsent said that all his friends watching back at the Leander club in Henley, should go to the cabinet in the bar, take out the Union flag from the Atlanta Games and run it up the flag pole to celebrate. Olympic inspiration 1984 Los Angeles - coxed four with Martin Cross, Richard Budgett, Andrew Holmes and Adrian Ellison 1988 Seoul - coxless pair with Holmes 1992 Barcelona - coxless pair with Matthew Pinsent 1996 Atlanta - coxless pair with Pinsent 2000 Sydney - coxless four with Pinsent, James Cracknell and Tim Foster "He has made himself the greatest Olympian Britain has ever produced and arguably in the world," he said. "You can't get better than that. It is an inspiration to all of us. "It didn't go all our own way. Italy pushed us very, very hard. But at every stage we knew we would win.

We stuck to our plan." Samaranch tribute Redgrave and the team received their gold medals from the Princess Royal, with the whole crowd rising to acclaim the achievement. IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch also presented a gold Olympic pin to Redgrave to mark his famous five golds. Cracknell said: "Half way I thought we would win by miles, but the Italians did really well. But it was a great feeling in the last 50 - I knew they wouldn't catch us." Foster added: "They got close to us, but it feels absolutely fantastic now." Early lead Great Britain had moved quickly into the lead, with Australia in second place by the 500m mark. Redgrave and his warriors opened up half a length lead with Foster dictating the rhythm superbly alongside his stronger colleagues. But the Italians surged through in the second half of the race, upping the rate to a stirring 44 a minute. In an unforgettable finale the British again responded, with stroke Pinsent keeping a close eye on the advancing rivals, and victory was secured. High five Redgrave's "high five" capped a remarkable four years since he won the coxless pairs with Pinsent at the Atlanta Olympics.

Then, still gasping for air, Redgrave assured television viewers that they had his full permission to shoot him if he was ever seen near a boat again. But the pull of the oars was too much, and he pushed his long-suffering frame through enormous punishment to reach peak fitness. In the two years that followed Atlanta his appendix had to be removed, he injured his arm and, to cap it all, he was then diagnosed with diabetes. Nothing though was to deter him or indeed his three teammates in his final, and ultimately successful push for gold. Early viewing figures indicate that a UK audience of 6.6m stayed up to watch Great Britain's coxless four claim victory on BBC TV at around 2430 BST. Search BBC Sport Online

Question: In which city did Steve Redgrave win his first Olympic Gold Medal?
Answer: LOS ANGELES